Mohammed Shosanya
Cocoa farmers in Oluwa forest reserve in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State would be returning to court on Monday over continued grading of the farmlands by a firm, SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited.
A statement by the attorney to the farmers, Tope Temokun, on Sunday and made available to newsmen in Akure, disclosed that the farmers would be starting off contempt proceedings against the Managing Director of the firm, Ayo Sotinrin having filed Form 48.
A motion has been filed by the farmers to join the son of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Babajide, in the matter being the Director-General of Ondo State Performance and Project Monitoring Implementation Unit (PPIMU).
The statement revealed that Babajide was in charge of directives on the grading of the cocoa farmers plantations.
According to Temokun, “The Oluwa Forest Reserve Farmers in their thousands will be returning to the court tomorrow, Monday, July 10, 2023 in Ondo over the continued grading of their cocoa farmlands by SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LTD, in conjunction with the Ondo State Government.
“The farmers have filed Form 48 to kickstart contempt proceedings against the Managing Director of SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LTD, Mr. Ayo Sotinrin and have also filed a motion to join the son of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, BABAJIDE AKEREDOLU, who is the Director-General of Ondo State Performance and Project Monitoring Implementation Unit (PPIMU), Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria, who is currently in charge of directives on the grading of the farmers’ cocoa trees by SAO AGRO-ALLIED SERVICES LTD, which shall be heard tomorrow.”
On May 2, 2023, the Ondo State High Court at Ore Judicial Division sitting in Ondo, Ondo State, presided over by Justice Aderemi Adegoroye, granted an interim injunction, restraining the Ondo State Government and SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited, among others, from further grading the cocoa plantations of the farmers.
But,SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited has allegedly continued grading work on the farmers plantations, destroying the farmers’ trees and replacing the cocoa trees destroyed with its oil palm trees.
